2013 Clippers schedule: Doc Rivers injects more storylines in Los Angeles

Can they challenge the top of the Western Conference, which right now is owned by the San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, and Oklahoma City Thunder? Can the Clips even win the Pacific Division with Golden State on the rise? And how will Rivers respond to playing against his former team, the Boston Celtics?

Nov. 7 at Miami -- The early-season matchup against the champs will be a good first test for the Clippers in their first year under Rivers. With the Celtics, the head coach fought Miami with a physical brand of basketball that he’d like to replicate in Los Angeles, and Nov. 7 will be an opportunity to see if that identity is sticking.

Nov. 18 vs. Grizzlies -- After taking a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals against Memphis last postseason, the Clippers dropped the next four games to head to the offseason with lingering questions. Lob City is out, and Memphis represents a less-watchable but more practical squad that the Clippers would like another crack at. And now they are likely to go about doing so with a more Memphis-like approach, with a bigger emphasis on defense.

Dec. 11 at Boston -- Rivers will return to Boston in what should be an interesting game. Will the Celtics faithful welcome him with memories of a title or with a fresh reminder of how their former coach left in the middle of his contract?

Dec. 25 at Golden State -- The Spurs, Grizzlies and Thunder go into the 2013-14 season looking like three of the top teams in the Western Conference. But who’s up there with them? Likely, it’ll come down to Golden State and Los Angeles, both of whom made offseason improvements. The Christmas Day game features a fight for the top of the Pacific Division.

April 6 vs. Lakers -- Early in April, the Clippers will probably be playing for playoff seeding. Meanwhile, the Lakers will likely be fighting for a playoff spot in the bottom of the West, if that. At very worst, Kobe Bryant will be playing angry and for respect if the season has already gone sour. Whatever the case may be, there’s a good bet the Staples Center will be hosting an entertaining game.

The Clippers have two seven-game road stretches. In December, they hit the road to consecutively play Atlanta, Memphis, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston, Brooklyn and then Washington. A month later, they play a much more difficult road swing against the Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, Bobcats, Bulls, Raptors and Bucks.

March looks a lot like the easiest stretch of games for Los Angeles if they are to put together a strong run. The toughest games are against Houston, Denver and Golden State, but after that, none of the 15 teams they play are sure-fire playoff squads. There are talented teams like the Lakers, Pelicans and Mavericks in there are well, but those are teams that haven’t had established success in the last couple of years. The Clippers could take advantage.

Back-to-backs: 17

Season opener: Oct. 29 at Los Angeles Lakers

Home opener: Oct. 31 vs. Golden State Warriors

Longest road trip: Seven games (Dec. 4-14, Jan. 17-27)

Longest homestand: Five games (Feb. 5-18, April 3-15)